Moonves – death to newspapers so CBS can make more money

Here’s an interesting look at how the CBS head honcho views newspapers and what his real concerns are… not news values, not being the watchdog, MONEY MONEY MONEY… Is there anything that can be done about this type of view of the media to save journalism?

From this morning’s media roundup on MediaBistro.com:

Les Moonves Wants to Put Newspapers Out of Business (Wired/Epicenter)
CBS chief Leslie Moonves says the purchase of CNET instantly made CBS a “major player” in the digital realm — and delights in his company’s contribution to the death of the daily newspaper. The CBS CEO plans to position his company as a one stop shop for news and information. “One of the advantages of the Internet is we’re taking money away from the newspapers,” he said.

What does this say about the state of the media?

From MediaBistro.com:

Todd and Sarah Palin Unchallenged in Fox Interviews (LAT)
James Rainey: Sean Hannity and Greta Van Susteren produced three nights of infotainment so frothy, slanted and off-point that they challenged even their cable network’s low standards. Given a chance to address real issues, Fox instead condescended to both Palins, with Van Susteren’s cringe-worthy paean to Arctic beauty and Todd Palin’s machismo, and Hannity’s weak-kneed idolization of Alaska’s governor.

A good topic for discussion right now in journalism classes and newsrooms: what does it say when supposedly “hard-hitting” news outlets don’t ask the “hard” questions and instead leave those to entertainment shows like “The View” (re: McCain’s recent interview).

Here’s The View interview:

This is the interview with ABC’s Charlie Gibson:

TV viewership increases online – What could that mean for TV news?

Not surprising to hear, but a new report is out that says more and more Americans are watching TV online.

The Conference Board reports:

Online TV viewing has been gaining in popularity. Nearly one-fifth of American households who use the internet watch television broadcasts online, double the viewership from 2006, The Conference Board and TNS report today. The top two destinations for online broadcasts are the official TV channel homepage and YouTube.com.

Why? That answer is not surprising either:

Most consumers do not like a set schedule. Being able to watch broadcasts on their own time and at their convenience are the top reasons users tune in online. Other reasons include avoiding commercials and portability. Nearly 72 percent of online households log on for entertainment purposes on a daily basis, and one in ten cites entertainment as the most important internet.

Read the rest of the report HERE:

This report makes for a good jumping off point for starting a discussion on the potential for television news. What is its future?  How can it be adapted to meet the changing habits of TV viewers?

Many stations have online components but what about ideas to totally revamp TV news?
Here are a few resources that report some findings that can also be used in this discussion:

marketingcharts.com

Pew Research Center

MSNBC On Air Tension & Drama

Interesting discussion today at Media Bistro involving drama at MSNBC. Anchor Brian Williams was on The Daily Show and Jon Stewart asked him what’s going on.

Check it out HERE. Be sure to read the comments there for added discussion.

Also, check out THIS STORY about the on air drama at MSNBC for background.